Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Cosmic Uncertainties
by sally.h.yi
Summary: This is 7th gen Pokémon Mystery Dungeon story. It is about a heroine, exploring in an unknown world that is guarded by Dawn and Dusk Guardians, facing challenges everyday as she tries to accomplish a task bestowed to her. She is not alone, as she will meet two companions that will aid her in her journey. Many thanks to my proofreader to make my story more engaging!
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue:**

The Day of Light,

The Shade of Night,

These are what keep the living alive.

But the balance was broken,

When the night was lengthened,

And the crime demanded retribution.

The Dusk Guardian pleaded innocence,

But the Dawn Guardian showed indifference,

And war erupted from the pits of strife.

As the madness deepened,

The stars sought out a champion,

And thus, that is how the story arrives.

 **Chapter 1: A Desperate Plea**

"Man, I'm bored."

It was 8 pm. A twelve-year old girl was lying on the double-single bed, staring at the white ceiling. She was currently having her school holidays, but she was alone at home because her parents were working overtime. Recently, they came back late at night, which was right after she went to bed. The only time she could chat to them was in the morning, or during the weekends. Otherwise, she had nothing much to do at home, besides going to the shopping mall, or visiting her friends occasionally. She also cooked her own meal since she knew she had to support herself in their absence.

She continued to gaze at the ceiling, till she decided it was time for her to go to bed. She snuggled her Ragdoll cat plushie, and rolled onto her left side on the bed. She stroked her plushie and muttered quietly.

"I guess you are the only one to accompany me, Peanut. Ah, I missed you so much since you went to sleep for eternity…"

Peanut was not her pet. He was her neighbour's cat which she had adored. She had never failed to pet him every day. She liked to hear him purrs whenever she petted his belly. He made her day, for his presence soothed her of her troubles. But ever since he passed away, she bought a plushie so that she could "talk" to him whenever she felt lonely.

Soon, she went into a deep sleep, and found herself in a dream realm. There, for the first time, she was walking on an endless space of water. Beneath the water was a planet she had never seen before. Two continents caught her attention: a crescent-shaped one in the north, and a partial sun-shaped one in the south. The girl was amazed of what she saw. However, her admiration for it was interrupted by a voice. The voice was chanting the girl's name, and that got her started.

"Solestral… Solestral… Please listen to my request," it said.

Solestral was perplexed that the voice knew who she was. She replied, "Huh? Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

"My apologies, I cannot reveal more about myself, but I can answer your other question. I have been watching you from another dimension, where the Pokémon live. I would like you to aid me…for there is a turmoil happening in this planet."

"Okay…So what do you want me to do?"

"Defeat the perpetrator of the war."

"War?" exclaimed Solestral, "There is no way I can do this by myself! Isn't this is supposed to be an adult problem?"

"Do not worry. I am sure you will gain companions along the way." Then, the voice sounded _apologetic_ , "However, to guarantee your safety, I will have to seal most of your memories..."

"Wait… what?" questioned Solestral in a baffled tone.

"I am sorry it has to come to this, but that is to make sure that the perpetrator will not target you immediately after you have descended upon this planet."

Solestral complained, "There is no way I can do this without knowing who I am! Argh… I really want to wake up from this nightmarish dream now."

Now the voice sounded a little hasty, "This is not a dream. Once you have woken up, you must remember to travel to the floating island in the north." It paused for a while, and then it continued, "Unfortunately, I cannot chat with you in this realm any longer, for I have to spend a substantial amount of energy to open the gate for you to enter to this world. I pray for your success…"

"Hold on a minute! You can't just shove me in there! Woah!"

A hole suddenly appeared under Solestral's feet. She fell into hole, screaming. Next, she found herself skydiving above the world she had seen beneath the water. As she tried to recollect her thoughts, she realised there were a lot of _gaps_ in her memory. She remembered her name, but she was puzzled as to why she had black paws for hands. She knew she was not a creature with four legs before, but she could not remember what she looked like. To her surprise, she did not feel anxious of her memory loss. But, when she noticed she was getting closer to the ground, she shouted in horror.

"Ohhhhh NOOO!"

The next thing she knew, she felt a gust of wind cushion her fall. She landed softly on the ground on her four paws. She sighed in relief that she did not become a splattered furball.

She looked at her surroundings. There were trees about two stories high in the vicinity, but not in close proximity. She decided that there was no other option but to move around. She got up on all fours, and tried to walk. Like a baby attempting to crawl on the floor, she clumsily stumbled all over the place. Her frustration elevated when she heard some laughter coming from the trees. She snapped to attention.

"Who's there?"

She turned her attention to the sound of grass rustling. There, she noticed two creatures that were odd to her. One was a wood-coloured giant owl with a green leaf bowtie, and the other was a blue tortoise with big red eyes, standing on its two legs.

The blue tortoise started the conversation first. "Oh, I am sorry. It is just that, I never seen a Litten 'dance' all over the ground. But let us put this aside, are you alright?"

The huge owl responded as well, but was sluggish in his speech, "We… don't mean you harm. My friend… saw you falling down from the sky, so I saved you… using Gust."

" _So, I guess I am a cat, huh? But, what does the word 'Lit' has to do with a kitten? Anyway, I think I should stand my ground against them._ " thought Solestral. She managed to walk over to them, and spoke to them while glaring at their faces,

"Well, I appreciate that the two of you rescued me, but that doesn't mean you can mock me for trying to walk on four limbs for the first time!"

The blue tortoise was confused. "Huh? What do you mean? You are not a baby that just came out of an egg to me."

She responded hesitantly, "I… I was talking to someone. The next thing I knew, I had arrived in this new world. In a way, you can say I am like a baby that does not know how the world works."

The big owl spoke slowly. "Hmm… If that is so, maybe… you have been brought into this world…for a reason."

The blue tortoise nudged him. "Wait, are you sure she is not insane? Maybe she is not telling the truth. You think her story can be trusted?"

The huge owl nodded and replied, "Absolutely, I… don't sense that she is a type… that lies to us." He then turned to face Solestral and continued his conversation. "I am sure… we haven't properly… introduced ourselves. My name is Normad, and my friend here… is Paul. It is nice… to meet you."

Solestral turned her head away and sulked, "I don't see why I need to tell you my name. Anyway, I need to go now. Goodbye."

"Where to?" asked Paul.

"To the floating island in the north," she answered causally.

Paul was taken aback. "What? Why do you need to go there?"

"All I know is that I have to go there! Well, I didn't ask you to come along with me. I will manage it by myself."

Normad said, "I beg to defer, you will need… to get information… on how to go there. Why don't you see… our village chief? She knows the way."

Solestral had to admit that she had no clue on how to get to the floating island. Despite the urgent feeling to reach that place, she figured that some help along the way was not a bad thing.

She shrugged and responded, "Sure, why not? Lead the way, then."

Normad bowed down and gestured to her, "Get on."

Solestral and Paul climbed onto his back. He stood up, and started flapping his wings. The gust he created uprooted the grass into the air, and was strong enough to shake the branches from the trees. Once he had warmed up, he took off into the sky, and headed in the direction of the afternoon sun.

* * *

Yay! New story and an art to boot!

art/Chapter-1-Caught-you-dancing-677465644


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: First Day in the Village**

Solestral was enjoying the sights, while Normad blazed through the sky. The wind was cooling as well, which was a welcoming respite from the scorching heat. Soon, she spotted a village in sight. The settlement was made up mostly of brown tents with intricate thin curve designs of blue and gold. As for the rest of the tents, they had unique features that stood out from the others. There were flowers surrounding the establishment, though some of them were grown around the tents. Looming in the background, there was a grassy hill, reaching about five hundred metres in height.

Normad descended upon the ground, next to a big brown tent; presumably where the village chief lived. There were pink flowers around the tent. Solestral recognised the species. It was the periwinkle, a poisonous plant that was consumed by certain group of animals. She assumed that it could have medical properties if taken in small doses.

Solestral and Paul alighted from Normad's back, and approached the tent's entrance. The entrance was opened; but it was rude to barge in, so Paul requested the village chief to grant them permission.

She accepted, "Yes. You all may enter."

They walked in respectfully in silence. Solestral was surprised that the tent was relatively empty for its size, but at least the main necessities were there. Instead of a water container, there was a small water pond that had a water filtration device connected to a pump to continuously pour fresh water into it. Solestral wondered whether the contraption was powered by electricity.

The Pokémon sitting behind the desk looked like a pink praying mantis wearing a kimono. The table was neat, except that there were some parchments of brown papers lying in front of her. She was in a process of writing something on it, but she paused due to their arrival. She graciously introduced herself.

"Good afternoon young Litten. Welcome to Periwinkle Village. I am Mistress Bloomsle, the village chief. It seems that Paul and Normad have brought you here. Is there something you want to ask me?"

Solestral got straight to the point and replied, "Yes. Do you know the location of a floating island in this region?"

"I do, but why do you want to go there?"

"A voice told me to go there. That's all I know."

Mistress Bloomsle's eyes widened a little, and she commented, "A voice? I see. So you must be the one…"

Solestral tilted her head and said, "I beg your pardon?"

Mistress Bloomsle shook her head and replied, "Oh, it is nothing. I think you need to go through some preparation before you can even set your foot there. The floating island is protected by a ward, which is the Mystery Dungeon. It is not easy to get through that obstacle."

"What is a Mystery Dungeon?"

"It is a magical dungeon that appears in places. The Dungeon is always changing, meaning if you go to a same Dungeon for a second visit, the interior will not be the same as the first time you went in. It is also a place where you can get rare item while fending off _residents_. The residents are the spirits of the Pokémon who choose to stay on this world so that they can battle the explorers to their souls' content."

Solestral was displeased, "Battling? What a pain. So how do I prove to you that I am ready to depart to that floating island?"

"I will assign missions to you. They can be rescuing, battling, or finding items. Once you are able to complete Level 3 mission, I will give you a map, and tell you the quickest way to get there. Does it sound good to you?"

"What?! I had to go through all these cra…" she abruptly stopped her rant. When she swallowed down the insult, she continued, "Ahem! So, will I receive my first mission now?"

Mistress Bloomsle smiled, "Not today. I would want you explore around the village. You might find some stores that can aid you on your missions." She took out a village map, and drew a red circle on a tent icon. She spoke, while showing the location to Solestral and her companions, "You can stay in there, below the first small tent at the west sector. You do not need to pay me, but I expect that you do your missions well. I will issue a mission to your doorstep tomorrow morning." She then passed the map to Paul since he had hands to hold it.

Solestral felt that Mistress Bloomsle seemed to be hiding something from her. "Hmm, it seems you have everything planned out for me. Were you expecting me? You didn't even ask for my name."

"Not at all. I am merely making sure you are ready before embarking on your journey." she answered calmly. "Now then, do you have any other questions to ask me?"

Paul spoke, "No, Mistress Bloomsle. Thank you for your help. Now, please excuse us."

Mistress Bloomsle waved goodbye while Paul pushed Solestral out of the tent with Normad following behind them. Once they were far away from the tent, the blue tortoise questioned Solestral,

"Do you think she knows you?"

She responded, "That is what I thought. But if she doesn't want to talk, there is no point arguing about it. Anyway, do I have to do the mission myself? I don't even know the way to the Mystery Dungeon!"

Normad commented, "We can… accompany you… if you need our… assistance."

Solestral was delighted. "Oh splendid! That will be great! Thanks!"

Normad continued, "We can tell you… where we live, so that you can find us… if you need our help.

Upon hearing that, Paul looked down and scratched his head. He took some time to consider allowing the invitation, as he was worried that his parents would think poorly of him for introducing a Fire Type Pokémon to his home.

He shook his head and answered, "Maybe not to my home. My dad does not treat strangers kindly."

Solestral joked, "Hmm, is he overprotective of you?"

He waved his stumpy hands and explained, "No, no, no! He doesn't want a Water Type to be friends with a Fire Type. In a way, he thinks I might be bullying you because you are weak to my water attacks."

"Hold on, I am a Fire Type, and you can use water techniques? Interesting… So, how do I use fire attacks?

"Umm…you just have to take a deep breath, and exhale as much as you can."

Solestral did as she was instructed. To her astonishment, a ball of fire came out of her mouth and landed on the ground. The fire lasted a few seconds before it extinguished itself. She wondered how she had managed to produce flames, and why her mouth was not scorched by it. However, those questions could be dealt later as she noticed that Normad was backing away from her. She enquired about his strange reaction.

"Normad, are you alright? You look rather panicky."

"I'm sorry. I am a…Grass and Flying Type, so fire attacks will be…super effective on me."

Solestral wanted to laugh at the hyperbolic remark but noticed the fear behind the response. Politely, she replied, "I see. I promise to be careful with my attacks when I am around you. Alright, let's take a tour of the village then! You can show me where you live while we are at it."

The group went around the village to show Solestral the sights using the map given to them by Mistress Bloomsle as a guide. They visited Paul's and Normad's homes which were respectively a tortoise shell tent and a light brown tent with a twin green leaf design on top. They dropped by the village library which contained various biography of Pokémon and research on Mystery Dungeons. They saw the village infirmary, and noted the location of various shops. Eventually, after having a dinner of fruits and vegetables, they finished the tour at Solestral's new residence.

Looking at her tent, Solestral was mildly impressed. She opened the entrance flap and found a water pond just like Mistress Bloomsle's at the right. Inside was also a leaf bed at the centre and a luminous fungus in a glass cup hanging on the ceiling. The tent was supported by six wooden beams, evenly spread out so as to stabilise it against a storm. Solestral noted that Mistress Bloomsle's home was supported by six metal beams. She assumed that being the village chief came with certain perks.

She spoke to the two Pokémon who accompanied her, "So, I guess I shall see you tomorrow?"

Paul replied, "Yup! We will call you to wake you up."

He returned the village map to her, which she bit on gently in her mouth before tossing it next to her leaf bed. She entertained the thought that she was getting better at doing tasks on four legs. She looked back at her two new companions and gave a court bow of her head.

"Very much appreciated. Alright, goodnight to the both of you."

"Good night," said the both of them simultaneously.

After Paul and Normad left, Solestral closed the flap of her tent and jumped onto her leaf bed. She tried to sleep, but the day's events had made her restless. She rolled all over her bed and sighed,

"Ah, since I have nothing else to do, maybe I should borrow something to read? Books always had the strange power to lure me to sleep."

She quietly left her home and headed off to the library. There, surrounded by wooden shelves, she saw a twin-tailed male purple monkey sitting on a wooden chair. He greeted her with her smile,

"Hello, are you new here?"

Solestral nodded and responded, "Yes. I just arrived in the village, and I will be staying here for a while."

He swayed his tail in excitement and said, "Ah. It is nice to meet you. My name is Hilton, and I am an Ambipom. If you have decided on the books you want to read, I can get them for you."

Solestral thought about the kind of books that would be best as boring her. A word popped up: history. "Thanks, Hilton. I would want to read about the historical affairs of this continent."

"Ah, I guess youngsters are interested in this nowadays. Alright, I shall retrieve what I have from the shelves."

He used his long tails to carefully pull a thin book titled _The Influence of Dawn and Dusk in a Life Cycle_ stored above him, and passed it to Solestral to bite onto it.

He continued, "Feel free to return it back whenever you want to. I hope you like the contents."

She thanked him in a muffled voice due to the book in her mouth, "Thess oou."

He nodded and replied, "You are welcome. Take care!"

She walked back to her home, and opened the book on her bed. She flipped through the pages idly, till she spotted the title _The Battle of the Day and Night_. Curious, she read the page in greater detail. To her surprise, she discovered that the night time was longer than a daytime in all parts of the world! In disbelief, she continued to read the book. It stated:

 _As night time is getting longer than the day, no one knew what was happening with the Dusk Guardian who governs the night. One thing that was apparent was the war between the two guardians, and it seemed that the Dawn Guardian was the one that initiated the war. Soldiers from both sides battled each other at the Sea of Equality, without rest and food. No land has been taken over as of this moment. However, it was theorised that the Sol Soldiers would win the battle, due to the prowess of General Groudon._

Solestral found herself genuinely intrigued by the story, "Ooh! How intense! I should continue reading."

However, despite her enthusiasm, her brain was no match for the drowsy powers of a history book. Within minutes, she was taking a long cat nap.

* * *

Author's notes:

Another artwork! I will try to upload one chapter every 2 weeks.

art/Chapter-2-Ho-ho-ho-680047472


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Exploring the Dungeon**

"Good morning, Litten!" said Normad.

"Umm… huh?"

Solestral was crudely awoken by the loud voice. For a moment, she imagined sleeping on a large bed with a cat plushie by her side. There was something within her dreams that she wanted to remember but could not. She opened her eyes and was confused that the place was dimly lit by the luminous fungus. It took her a while to realise that she was inside a tent instead of a room. At that moment, the memories of her predicament started flooding her mind and she groaned in frustration. She opened the flap of her tent to find Paul and Normad standing outside with backpacks.

Normad, ironically, was the first one to speak in his usual slow manner, "I am sure you are surprised… that it is still so dark, but believe it or not, it is… daybreak! By the way, there is… a letter at your doorstep. It came from… Mistress Bloomsle."

Solestral looked at the letter and then at her paws. Not feeling up for the task of precision handling this early in the 'morning', she asked, "Paul, can you open it for me? I might just shred it to pieces."

He responded enthusiastically, "No problem!"

He tore the top flap of the envelope, and opened the letter. It stated:

 _Dear child,_

 _I hope you have enjoyed your stay in my village. By the time you are reading this letter, you may be wondering why the sky is still night despite everyone claiming that it is past daybreak. I assure you, it is morning now and this is a plight that we have to adapt to. However, we can keep the historical lesson for another discussion. As promised, I have a mission for you._

 _Client: Flaremerry the Pikipek_

 _Mission Difficulty: One Star_

 _Mission: Find a Calsum Wheat in Bright Hill Mystery Dungeon. It is a pink-coloured wheat, and the spikelets are rounded in shape. Find the item and return it to Flaremerry in the library._

 _I wish you all the best in your mission._

 _Mistress Bloomsle_

 _Village Chief_

" _What is the point of calling it morning when it is obviously still night?_ " Solestral thought, but she did not show her gripe in front of her companions. Instead, she responded with a cheerful expression.

"Alright, let's go!"

Paul nodded. "Right. By the way, are you fine with us calling you Litten? It is… kind of awkward."

"Why? Is it wrong to be called a _Litten_?"

Paul was not expecting that question as an answer. He commented anyway, "N-No…? Never mind, forget about it. By the way, this is for you."

He gave her an empty small brown backpack, and an Oran Berry, which was a soft orange-like blue fruit. Solestral immediately munched onto the berry. Paul was surprised for the second time that morning.

"What?" Solestral said, "I haven't eaten my breakfast yet."

Paul frowned, "It is supposed to be for emergency use. Oh well."

After Solestral wore her backpack, Normad took them for a ride to the grassy hill that she had seen before they arrived at the village. On top of the hill, she spotted a blue swirling portal. Solestral asked Normad about it, and as expected, it was an entrance to the Mystery Dungeon.

The group carefully landed next to the portal. Solestral was racing to go into it, but Normad quickly stooped her, and explained something in an urgent fashion that was opposite to his normal demeanour.

"Before we… enter a Dungeon, I need to tell you about… the portal's colour. It signifies …the difficulty level of the Dungeon. In an order… of the lowest to the highest difficulty, it is: Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and lastly, Red."

Solestral accepted the warning, "That is useful to know. Thank you, Normad."

Normad returned to his unhurried tone and replied, "Don't mention it. Alright, let's…complete our mission."

They entered the portal together. After a blazing flash of light, the group found themselves in a brightly lit room of grass, grey rocks and walls of vines. The ceiling looked like a sky, but if anyone were to try and touch it, they would be dismayed that they could not go through it. Lastly, there were two paths to exit the room. Uncertain of what to do, Solestral looked at Paul and Normad.

"Hey guys, would it be alright for me to follow both of you around? It is my first time in a Dungeon, so I don't know what I have to do in here."

Paul immediately responded, "Sure! But still stay alert. There are times that we may get into some trouble." Paul followed that reply with a nervous laugh, "Not that we often get into trouble. Ha ha ha… ha."

"Just make sure… you don't overtake Paul. He can protect you… if we encounter something… dangerous," mentioned Normad.

Solestral understood what she needed to do, and said, "That is reassuring. Thanks!"

They went to the corridor to their right, with Paul in the lead and Normad at the rear. Soon, they encountered a yellow bug with fairy wings. Without hesitation, Normad flapped his wings to create Gust, and it swept the Bug/Fairy Pokémon away.

"What is that?" questioned Solestral.

"That is Cutiefly," answered Paul. "Trust me; there is NOTHING cute about it. It will scatter Stun Spores at you. Next, as a finishing move, it will use Draining Kiss to deplete your health."

Solestral scrunched her nose in discomfort. "That sounds nasty!"

"Yeah, there are many other Pokémon that can deal status ailments. The only method to prevent them from doing so is to attack them first. They will be stunned, so you can follow-up with another attack to faint them."

Solestral was amazed, "Wow, you know your stuff. But how could a spirit, faint?"

Paul scratched his head and replied, "That is how it works. I guess it is due to the Dungeon's rules."

"Is that so?" Solestral was a bit disappointed by that answer, but decided that she would not be able to comprehend the Dungeon's unique mechanics. "Oh? I think we are reaching the other room. And… is that an item on the ground?"

The group entered the room, and noticed a small red gem glistening under the light of the false sky. Normad tilted his head almost 180 degrees and spoke.

"This is… odd. Isn't that's a... Fire Gem? What is it doing… in this Level 1 Dungeon? It should appear… in Level 3 ones, shouldn't it?"

Paul was confused as well. "I have no clue. Oh well, since we found it, why don't you keep it, Litten?"

Her eyes widened and said, "Me? You want me to keep this? But it looks so expensive! Isn't jewellery something that adults should keep? What am I to do with this?"

Paul looked at Solestral with a puzzled expression, but chose not to question the odd outburst. "It helps to boost your Fire attack greatly, but it breaks afterwards. It is a good item to use if you found yourself cornered."

She was ecstatic, "Sweet! Don't mind if I do!"

She swung her bag over to her front. After that, she used her mouth to lift up the bag cover, and bit the gem to put it in. She could not believe that they had found such a powerful item in this Dungeon. However, she also had a foreboding feeling about finding it in here.

They carried on to the other room. There, they noticed a flight of stairs leading to another floor above. They climbed the stairs, and once they reached the other floor, they found a pink-coloured wheat that fitted their mission's description: a Calsum Wheat.

Paul said, "That's easy. Okay, let's get the item and warp out of here."

"We can _warp_ out of here?" asked Solestral in bewilderment. There was no shortage of seemingly impossible things that keep fascinating her since her arrival in this new world.

"Yup. Once we have successfully completed our mission, the Dungeon allows us to leave. It is better than to continue all the way to the end, right?"

"Definitely! Okay, I shall retrieve the item!"

Solestral quickly moved forward and gently bit the item. All of a sudden, a voice was heard.

"Congratulations on finding a Calsum Wheat. Do you wish to escape from this Dungeon, or continue to the end of it?"

"Leave the Dungeon, please," answered Paul.

They were immediately teleported out of the Dungeon. And soon enough, they found themselves back on the grassy hill. While the other two companions looked calm after their adventure, Solestral had an expression on her face that conveyed the type of emotion that would be felt when one experienced the most wonderful thing in their life. To Paul and Normad, they were glad that she was uninjured and she had enjoyed her first exploration in the Dungeon.

The team then headed back to the village by air, and landed in front of the library. They entered the library, and returned the wheat to Flaremerry.

"Thank you very much!" said the young Woodpecker Pokémon, "It takes me forever to find the item in that Dungeon."

"Really? It took us, like, twenty minutes to get it," mentioned Solestral.

Flaremerry was impressed, "Is that right? Normally, I cannot find it even after scouring all three floors of the Dungeon, despite my keen eyesight. You three must have incredible luck. Here, this is your reward for finding what I need."

He gave Paul a bag of 300 Pokédollars. Solestral could not believe that their client would give cash to them for their effort.

"Well then," said Flaremerry, "it is time for me to return back to my home. Have a great day!"

He hopped out of the library, and flew away. Solestral still eyed the bag of coins until Paul found it intimidating. He ended up handing over the cash to her.

"I think you should keep it. My parents can support me anyway.

"Oh! Thank you! Solestral promptly put the bag of coins into her backpack and continued her conversation. "You know, since we have completed the mission, do we need to inform Mistress Bloomsle?"

Normad agreed, "Yes, we should. Shall we?"

They made their way to her tent. Like before, they waited for Mistress Bloomsle's permission prior to entering. Nothing had changed in the tent, except there were less brown parchments on the table.

"So," commented Mistress Bloomsle. "The mission was successful, yes?"

"Yup." replied Solestral with pride. "But since it is so easily accomplished, may we receive another mission?"

The village chief shook her head and explained, "Oh, no. The rules dictate that I can only give you one a day. But if you wish, you can go back to that Dungeon for some training. The next mission will not be an easy one."

Solestral thought that was a good idea. She answered, "Hmm. I will take your advice." She then turned to face Paul and Normad, and continued, "Will you two accompany me for my training? I think it is better for me to learn quickly about the basics."

Paul responded, "Well…my dad wants me back home at noon, so I guess I have some time to help you."

Normad followed, "I can make… time. Besides, my parents… prefer me to travel around… and tell them about my adventures."

Solestral gleefully shouted, "And so it is decided! Let's go!"

However, before she could speed off, she felt something pinched her tail, causing her to scream in agony. In tears, she turned her head to find Mistress Bloomsle retracting her right pincer off her tail. The village chief warned her.

"Not so fast, missy. It would be foolish to rush into battle like that. Didn't you earn some money from your mission earlier? You should buy some items from Kelstar to aid you in your exploration."

While Normad was using his wings to obstruct Solestral, Paul was holding a hand over Solestral's mouth, trying his best to muffle the words that were undoubtedly curses and swears from leaving her. Paul said nervously, "That… that is a great idea! Mistress Bloomsle, we shall take our leave."

The pink praying mantis grinned and replied, "Alright. Have a safe trip in the Dungeon."

They left quickly while dragging the disgruntled cat, and walked towards a weird tent that looked like a green chameleon head. It was clear throughout the short trip that Solestral was unhappy with having her tail mistreated like that. Paul and Normad could only offer apologises and explanations to try and soothe her anger. At the counter of the shop, the group found the owner organising his store's layout. It was to ensure there was enough lighting to shine on his wares to make them more attractive to his customers. Upon the group's arrival, Kelstar greeted them with a smile.

"Welcome to Kelstar's Store! How may I help you?"

Solestral enquired him about the items while stroking her hurting tail with her paws, "Uh… which items are the best for… let's say, surviving in a dungeon?"

"That depends on how much money you have with you."

She answered truthfully, "I have 300 Pokédollars."

Kelstar took a moment to ponder, and then he replied, "Hmm. Please give me a moment."

He went into his tent, and took out a small light brown oval-shaped seed. He handled it over to Solestral.

"What is this?" questioned Solestral.

"Well adventurer, this is a Revival Seed. Should you faint in the Dungeon, you will be instantly recovered to full health and energy."

She was impressed, "Seriously? I do not need to eat this seed to recover my health? Does that mean this miracle item is expensive?"

Kelstar looked at Solestral with a sly smirk. He commented, "Nah. It only costs 200 Pokédollars. But since you are my first time customer, I shall give it to you for _free_."

The store owner's words immediately erased any lingering anger and pain that Solestral was feeling. Her eyes beamed and she replied in joy, "Wow, really? I guess being a rookie has its benefits!"

Kelstar laughed, "Haha. But next time, you will have to pay me for my wares. Good luck in your adventures!"

She nodded and responded, "Yeah! See you, Kelstar!"

The group left the village, and made their way back to Bright Hill. However, while flying near the portal, Paul discovered something was odd about it.

He warned, "Normad, are you seeing what I am seeing?"

The huge owl answered, "Yes. This is something… highly unusual."

"What's wrong?" asked Solestral.

Paul replied in an ominous tone, "The portal… is green in colour. This has never occurred before."

Solestral did not comprehend the fuss. She commented, "You are right. Still, I think we can explore the dungeon. I mean, it is only a slightly difficult version."

Paul shook his head and replied, "I do not want to take any risk in venturing in there. There is something… wrong going on here. Sorry, Litten. We must inform Mistress Bloomsle about this."

Solestral was annoyed and disappointed. She did not want to give up this opportunity to explore this Dungeon after having made the effort to come here. Hence, she came up with a cunning idea. She lied to Normad to fly close to the portal, so that she could take a better look at it. He did as he was told, thinking it was a reasonable compromise to indulge her after the earlier incident with Mistress Bloomsle. However, when they were close enough, she immediately leapt off his back and dashed into the portal. Paul and Normad were stunned.

"Litten!" they shouted, and quickly gave chase. Unfortunately, they stopped in front of the portal as they knew that they had reacted too late. If they tried to enter the portal now, they would be transported to a different area of the Dungeon. Panicking, they flew back to village and informed Mistress Bloomsle about the problem. Mistress Bloomsle immediately took her sling bag, and informed Paul and Normad to follow her.

"We will wait outside the portal. I have brought all kinds of healing items that I can think off, just in case she is wounded. Now, let's make our way there, post-haste!"

They acknowledged, "Yes, chief!"

* * *

Author's comments:

Another Artwork! I will post my other chapter after my exams, so it might take a month for me to post a new chapter on Fanfiction.

art/3-First-Dungeon-682645764


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Lessons Learned**

Solestral found herself back in the same room, or so she thought. There were four pathways this time. She cautiously headed north. To her delight, two Pokémon were blocking her path. They looked like blue-coloured radishes so she assumed that they were of the Grass Type. Using the only fire attack she knows, she shot an Ember at them, and the attack crisped their leaves. As a result, they were knocked out, and were teleported away from the Dungeon. Solestral thought about the rules of the teleportation. If she was defeated here, would she be teleported out of the Dungeon, or somewhere else? In spite of the uncertainty that looms, she decided to continue her training throughout the rest of this Dungeon.

She explored all the corridors, till she managed to reach a room with stairs. Once she advanced to the next floor, she found two Oran Berries and five small twigs bundled together on the ground. She surveyed the twigs. The twigs gave off a green sparkle, and when she touched one of them, knowledge started seeping into her mind:

 _Warp Wand. It warps a foe, or ally, to a random area of the current dungeon floor. Its range is small, but it can warp any living Pokémon near the target away as well. To use it, direct the wand at the Pokémon._

She was flabbergasted. "Woah! Why did words appear in my head? That did not happen before. This feels weird, yet correct at the same time. Is this the payoff of my training? Is this… my first new ability?"

She decided to investigate her theory by touching the Oran Berry. As she suspected, words appeared in her head, but lengthier:

 _Oran Berry: A miraculous berry that needs to be consumed to recover the user's Health Points greatly. Take note. Health Points, or HP for short, are in fact, the Pokémon's endurance. Should the Health Points meter reaches zero, the Pokémon will faint. On the other hand, Power Points, or PP for short, are the Pokémon's energy requirements to use an attack, or buffs. Every Pokémon can only use four moves. Once the Power Points meter reaches zero, the Pokémon is unable to use them. To determine whether the foe has a low HP, look at its stance. The foe that is low on HP will tend to stand unsteadily. It is not easy to tell whether the foe is low on PP. However, if they try to use a move and nothing happens, that could mean that it is out of PP._

She was impressed, "Wow. All those words make me feel like I am in a game. This is, like, an ultimate cheat code! I wonder if the Dungeon is just a game that somebody made. Nah, there is no point pondering about this. I have to move on."

Solestral put the items in her backpack, and ventured off further in the dungeon. Along the way, she encountered more Pokémon residents. She defeated them easily, but there was a Cotton Pokémon that gave her a lot of trouble because it could use status ailments rapidly. Her tactic was to back away from the powders, and use Ember to burn them. Eventually, after depleting her stash of Oran Berries to recover her health, she reached the fifth floor.

This floor was unique; there was only one room, and a pond at the centre of it. There was a grey square tile at the back of the room as well. She strode towards the tile, but suddenly, she heard a loud splash.

She heard a menacing male voice that echoed around the chamber, "Pitiful adventurer… You can't use the Warp Tile until you have defeated me."

Solestral's heart was beating fast. The sound of the voice had her fur standing on end. Sweat was beginning to appear on her face and her bones were shivering. For a moment, she regretted coming into the Dungeon alone. She fearfully turned around, expecting a monstrous beast to stare at her into submission. Instead, she found a red fish with yellow whiskers surfacing out of the water. His face looked rather... dopey. Solestral could not help but giggle as all the built-up anxiety left her body.

"Ha ha ha! You have to be the silliest thing I have seen thus far! I can defeat you easily even though you are, probably what? A Water Type?"

"Yes, I am a Water Type," bellowed the creature. "But I would advise that insolent fools like you not to take me lightly, especially when I can do _this_."

He shot a powerful stream of water at Solestral. The attack hit, and she was drenched. Not only that, the attack was extremely painful. Solestral had never known that water could hurt so much. It was like being hit by a bowling ball. Furthermore, she felt weakened, like all the energy in her body had disappeared. As she struggled to stay on her feet, she now knew that she should not have mocked a Pokémon that looked dopey like him.

She shot an Ember at him. She understood that that attack would do little damage on him, but that was the only move she knew. The creature received the fire without flinching, and laughed at her pathetic attempt.

"Is that the best you got? What happened to all that bravado before? Were you not boasting about how you could easily defeat a Water Type like my brilliant self? An ignorant child should be taught be a lesson."

The creature shot out a volley of water projectiles at Solestral with deadly accuracy. While she managed to force her body to evade some of the attacks, a few of them hit, each eliciting a cry of pain. Despite the suffering, she continued to shoot Embers at the creature in the hopes of slowing his strikes. Sadly, none of her assaults proved effective. Instead of slowing him down, she was progressively getting slower from fatigue. When she could not move because of her arching muscles, the creature prepared a powerful attack and hit her in the face with a giant water ball.

The impact was so great that Solestral was flung onto her back. The force caused her to twirl across the ground with the contents of her backpack scattered across the floor.

The creature continued to chuckle arrogantly, "What is the matter? I thought cats were supposed to always land on their feet, not roll in the dirt! It would seem that you are so weak that your natural instincts have failed you! You are a disgrace to your kind!"

Solestral did not hear the insults. She was busy trying to differentiate the floor from the ceiling. She wanted to fall asleep, but a burning desire within her was encouraging her not to give up. Everything was a blur to her at the moment. However, a faint green sparkle garnered her attention. The glow was coming from a bunch of twigs on the floor next to her.

It was in that instant that a plan formulated in her head. While the creature was still distracted with his taunting, she quickly grabbed the Warp Wand and used it against him. He was warped away, and appeared at a corner of the room that had no water. There, he kept on flopping around.

"Oh no, I can't survive above water!" he cried.

She took this opportunity and shouted, "Now, the kitty gets the fishy! It is payback time! Screwdanae!"

It felt appropriate to shout out her self-made catchphrase. She only used it during times of great stress. Now was as good a moment as any.

She shot Embers at the creature repeatedly. The fish tried to use his water attacks to douse the fires before they hit. However, because he was flopping around, he was not able to. Each fire attack burned his shiny scales. While the attacks did not do much damage individually, the continuous barrage of fire strikes was wearing him down. His last ditch effort was to get back into the pond. He tried to angle himself and used a strong swipe of his tall to fling himself back into the water. Solestral saw this, and used all the energy in her legs to jump and tackle him on his left side. She was successful, and the red fish was knocked back. Before he touched the ground, Solestral blew the strongest Ember that she could muster into his face as retribution for his earlier attack against her. He landed on the ground hard, and fainted from the impact.

The force of her Ember was so great that Solestral was pushed back as well, but she managed to land on her feet like a cat normally would. Determined to leave the Dungeon, she frantically shook off the water off her fur and put her items back into her backpack. She staggered straight to the tile. On closer inspection, the tile had a purple orb imbedded in the centre. She stepped on it, and a voice sounded.

"This is the last floor of the Dungeon. Do you wish to return back to the outside world?"

She replied tiredly, "Yes."

She was teleported out of the dungeon, and unknowingly, appeared in front of Paul, Normad, and Mistress Bloomsle.

Looking at them, Solestral did not have the time or energy to come up with a logical response. So, she said, "Umm, yeah? What's up?"

Mistress Bloomsle was the first to reply, "Child! What happened to you? You are wet and hurt!"

"Well, I got into a boss battle with a red fish with a yellow whisker that looked wimpy. No, ignore that comment, he wasn't wimpy. He shot a strong water attack at me, but in the end, I won the battle."

"Red fish? You mean, a Magikarp? It should not exist in that dungeon at all! Furthermore, based on your description of his attack, he used Hydro Pump? This is a serious situation. I think I have to inform everyone in the village not to venture into portal. I will investigate this to find out the cause of this anomaly."

Paul interrupted and said, "Okay, that's it. I think you are tired. We shall bring you back to your home. Don't try to escape. Normad will be watching you."

Normad responded, "Well, they had… voted on me to monitor you. I don't mind. Please understand, it is… for your wellbeing."

Solestral sighed, "Yeah, yeah. I will take my kitty nap."

"Alright, we must go back to the Periwinkle Village now. It is close to noon." suggested Mistress Bloomsle. She quickly used the items that she had brought to heal Solestral to the best of her abilities.

The rest of the group climbed on top of Normad, and they made their way back to the village. Due to her recklessness and the imposed house-arrest, Solestral wondered whether there would be a mission for her tomorrow.

* * *

Yes! Finally, I am back on track! And here is another art I made.  
art/Chapter-4-Water-vs-Fire-692789702


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